At the end of Ephesians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul closes his prayer to the church with a curious expression of desire that they would be able to comprehend with all saints the height, depth, length, and breadth of the love of God. He follows that up with a statement that this love passes knowledge. So, on the one hand, he wants them – and us today – to comprehend something that is past finding out. How do you reconcile these two thoughts? How can they possibly align? Let us consider each dimension and see if we can find the join point of these statements.
Height: The height of God’s love would understandably reach into heaven itself. It is where God dwells, and it is our eventual home through His grace unto us. How high is that? Higher than I can attain or comprehend. If you ask most people where heaven is, the only answer we can really give is by pointing up. I have my own personal thoughts about where heaven is, but suffice it to say, it is higher than we can know or attain. However, we fervently believe that it is our home with a yearning inside from the new man to fly away there and be at rest.
Depth: Because of our sinful nature and cursed actions upon this earth, we rightfully deserve to be in everlasting torment world without end. By nature, we are no different from the children of wrath that will occupy that unhappy state. If that be our just and lawful demise by nature, the love of God had to reach down that far to pull us out of such a dreadful state, condition, and expected end. When Paul declared himself to be the chief of sinners in I Timothy 1:15, he is stating that the love of God through Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners included reaching down the farthest for him. Indeed, that should be all of our perspective that we were the lowest of the low, and God’s arm had to come the farthest for me.
Length: God tells Jeremiah that He loves us with an everlasting love. We can somewhat understand “everlasting into the future.” That is technically not the correct way to describe eternal and everlasting concepts, but our language fails to talk of eternity as time-bound and space-bound creatures. But, how do you describe eternity or everlasting in the past? My mind frazzles at trying to think of forever backwards. Yet, God’s love is everlasting – without beginning and without end. When someone asks, “How long has God loved us?” The only suitable answer is, “He’s always loved us.” We cannot find a time, spot, location, moment, etc. where He didn’t love His children and family.
Breadth: God’s love encompasses every single child without the loss of one. Jesus plainly stated in John 6:37-44 that He would not lose a single one. Regardless of when they lived, how they lived, or any other circumstance, nothing will prevent His love from any of His precious ones. How many is that? The Bible says the number is as numerous and incomprehensible as the stars of the heaven or the sand of the seashore. The Psalmist says that He knows all the stars and calls them all by name. (Psalm 147:4) Likewise, He knows all of us and calls us all by name. We don’t know the number, but He does. We don’t know who all of them are, but He does.
Beloved, it is apparent from these dimensions that they extend well beyond our grasp. As unattainable as heaven is for height, as utterly dire as the depths of hell are, as mind-blowing as eternity is, and as unfathomable as the untold millions and billions of God’s children are, it is past finding out. While on this side of the picture, our feeble minds just cannot plumb the depths of it all. And yet, what does the comfort of the Scriptures in conjunction with the sweet peace of the soul testify? What does the gospel corroborate when it goes forth with power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost?
What we believe is that God loves us. He’s always loved us. He will have us with Him in His home and ours forever. He won’t lose a single one. He will have us forever. Do you understand that? In a sense we do. Can we fathom all the details? No in no wise! But if someone asks us, “Are you part of that number?” we can affirm that we believe we are. If they ask us why, we should be able to comprehend with all saints that there is a testimony inside of us that has been corroborated over and over again through blessings and providence that tells us we belong to Him. We’re part of that number, and all these dimensions belong to us. Do I understand that? I do and I don’t. But, may we lay our heads down at night and thank Him supremely for this great comfort so that when the day comes we lay our heads down for the last time, we can do so with the joy and triumph of knowing that His love is about to convey us home.
In Hope,
Bro Philip